White House Press Corps.org: White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 11/5/07 (Pakistan and Democracy)

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White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 11/5/07 (Pakistan and Democracy)
— Monday, November 05, 2007 —

MS. PERINO: Kelly.

Q For a long time the President has urged Musharraf to give up his military status, and he has not done so. And you cited a couple of reasons why we should all be mindful of Pakistan's assistance in the war on terror. Is the U.S. willing to accept a certain amount of Musharraf's lack of democracy in order to have his assistance?

MS. PERINO: We are not in a give-and-take situation. We want democracy to work. We know that democracy had been working in Pakistan. People have been able to have press freedoms, they've been participating in civil society groups, education had started to reform, the public health system was starting to get better.

So I think that if they can return quickly, as Secretary Rice said, return quickly to the rule of law, they can get back on that path to democracy and we won't face that situation, an either/or situation.

Q Can you have a partner in the war on terror from a country that does not embrace these democratic institutions?

MS. PERINO: I think that the most important thing is for them to get back to their stated goal of having a path to democracy, establishing that free and fair elections would take place in January. You'll hear from the President more.

Right now we have a review underway of all of our programs that we are supporting. We have to keep in mind that it is important that we fight the terrorists there for all people, not just those there in Pakistan but for our national security interests as well. And the President has an obligation to protect Americans, to protect American assets. So all of these things are going to have to be taken into consideration as we review the situation.

Q Is there any concern from the President that during this time of uncertainty that the work the Pakistani military was doing to try to root out al Qaeda in its border regions would be compromised, or that this could be an opening for bin Laden and his associates?

MS. PERINO: I haven't heard that expressed, but I'm sure that since we've been cooperating with the Pakistani military to try to root out the terrorists I don't have any reason to believe that that would end.

Q Why hasn't the President called Musharraf, who is, after all, a key ally, personally? Is he reserving that, is there a lack --

MS. PERINO: The President has directed his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, to have that direct contact. And if there's more to update later today we will.

Labels: Condeleezza Rice, Dana Perino, Musharraf, Pakistan, President Bush, Press Briefing, State Department, War on Terror, White House Press Corps

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